Fewer than 48 hours after their sweep of Kerrville Tivy, the Canyon Cougarettes will continue their volleyball playoff journey against Pflugerville Connally.
Sixth-ranked Canyon will play the 15th-rated Lady Cougars in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal match at 7 p.m. today at Kyle Lehman. Connally (29-11), the District 25-4A runner-up, is coming off a 25-18, 25-17, 25-14 victory over San Antonio Edison on Tuesday.
Comal County’s other two playoff teams will wait until Friday before beginning their next rounds.
In Class 5A, Smithson Valley’s Rangers will take another tough foe in eighth-ranked O’Connor (31-3). The teams will meet at 6 p.m. at Blossom Athletic Center’s Littleton Gym. And in Class 4A, New Braunfels will play Cedar Park Vista Ridge (27-11) in a 7 p.m. match at the Delco Center in Austin.
District 26-4A champion Canyon brings a 17-game win streak into tonight’s contest against Connally, which will present a threat similar to the one posed by Tivy in the Cougarettes’ 25-23, 25-13, 25-13 win on Tuesday.
“They’re a big team — they pose a big threat at the net both offensively and with their block defensively,” Canyon coach Heather Sanders said. “We will need to serve tough so that they can’t get that powerful offense going. And we also will need to run a quick offense against the block.”
Tara Smith had 23 assists, four aces, 10 digs and six kills in the win over Tivy, while Brandie DeBacker had 12 digs and nine kills. Lark Miller had six kills, four aces and a block while Brittani Hackfeld had 17 digs for the Cougarettes.
The winner of today’s game will play the Mission-Beeville Jones winner in the regional semifinals early next week.
New Braunfels got 16 kills, 19 digs, 3.5 blocks and two aces from Andrea Hannasch in a 25-23, 25-11, 25-20 win over Alamo Heights on Tuesday. The 18th-ranked Unicorns will play a Vista Ridge team coming off a 25-18, 25-17, 25-15 win over Fredericksburg on Tuesday.
Becah Fogle had 16 kills, 12 digs and an ace for the Lady Rangers, who got 40 assists from setter Allison Gideon and 12 kills and 2.5 blocks from right side hitter Morgan Crawford. The Rangers are playing much better following a slow start to the season, and are currently ranked No. 17 in the TGCA’s final regular-season poll.
The winner of Friday’s match will play Corpus Christi Calallen or Mission in the regional semifinals next week.
Smithson Valley will have a colossal opponent Friday in O’Connor, which is the top-rated team in the area and has lost only three times this fall. However, the Rangers showed heart on Tuesday as they defeated one of the state’s top teams in Austin High, which fell in four after taking the second game 25-9.
Smithson Valley, which won the first game 25-15, came back to win the final two games 27-25 and 26-24, coming back from a 22-13 deficit in the final game. Tamika Heline had 16 kills and Jessie Hartman had 28 assists for Rangers, who got four aces each from Jennifer Listerman and Hartman; two blocks by Desie Baker and saw Paige Hamilton and Kristen Carter combine for 42 digs.
“It was another hard-fought battle against a very good Austin High team. We were down in the fourth game by nine points and we came back to win that last game,” Smithson Valley coach Liana Gombert said following the match. “It was another show of heart, guts and determination by the Rangers tonight. I thought both teams showed great heart and desire tonight — I’m really proud of our kids.”
The winner of Friday’s contest will advance to the regional quarterfinal round against either East Central or Reagan, who play at 7:30 p.m. today at Alamo Convocation Center.
STATE VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
CLASS 5A AREA Smithson Valley (27-12) vs. SA O’Connor (32-3), 6 p.m. Friday, BAC’s Littleton Gym
CLASS 4A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS Canyon (33-7) vs. Pflugerville Connally (29-11), 7 p.m. today, Kyle Lehman Tickets: $5 adults; $2 students Getting there: Take Interstate 35 north to the Kyle Parkway exit (215). Take a right on County Road 130; the school is down the road on the right.
New Braunfels (30-9) vs. Cedar Park Vista Ridge (27-13), 7 p.m. Friday, Delco Center, Austin Tickets: $5 adults; $2 students Getting there: Take Interstate 35 north through Austin. Take the U.S. 290 exit (238B); go east. At Springdale Road, take a right on Pecan Brook Drive. The center is located at 4601 Pecan Brook Drive.
